An inventor and television producer, Forsse’s best known creation was Teddy Ruxpin, a bear with a cassette tape player in its back that “read” to children. Teddy Ruxpin sent parents into a frenzy after it sold out following its Christmas 1985 launch — it would soon be named the bestselling toy of 1985 and 1986.

“He thought about Teddy all the time and was always writing stories,” said Forsse’s wife, Jan. “He had an idea and documented it every day of his life. He had one of the most fertile creative minds I ever knew.”

Though he never had any biological children, Forsse adopted two, aged 18 and 21, when he married Jan in 1987.